Synopsis of the Where Waters Meet Project
As an organization, the Canadian Chamber Choir (CCC) is striving to learn from Indigenous perspectives and ways of knowing, and to use our art to engage actively with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action.
In acknowledging (re)conciliation as action-based, in 2017 the CCC commissioned Yellowknife composer Carmen Braden to compose a multi-movement work about water from both non-Indigenous and Indigenous perspectives. The piece, entitled Where Waters Meet (WWM), includes texts by the composer, by the singers, and by Indigenous poet Yolanda Bonnell.
Yolanda Bonnell, who is from Fort William First Nation Indian Reserve in Thunder Bay, is an emerging performer and playwright of Ojibwe and South Asian descent. Two of Yolanda’s poems are set to music in Where Waters Meet: Nibi (which means ‘water’ in Ojibwe) and McIntyre, which refers to the McIntyre River that runs through Thunder Bay, Ontario. The McIntyre is also called the River of Tears because of the history of violence against Indigenous peoples there. Since 2000, seven Indigenous youth have been pulled from the river.
Where Waters Meet contains aleatoric elements and will continually bring in different voices and engage with local issues of water in each place we visit. It premiered in Yellowknife, NWT with fiddler Wesley Hardisty from the Dene First Nation in October 2019. Additional performances took place in fall 2022 in Nova Sotia with Mi’kmaw singer/drummer Aaron Prosper. Cree-Dene singer/composer/educator Sherryl Sewepagaham will join the CCC in Ontario for multiple performances in 2023.
In addition to an ever-evolving cast of collaborators, Where Waters Meet contains aleatoric elements, continually engaging with local issues of water that are unique to each place the CCC visits.
About the Where Waters Meet Project
The CCC has committed to learning from Indigenous persons in our diverse tour locations. As individual artists, we have also committed to examining the connections each of us has with the land and with the Indigenous communities, past and present, in our respective places of origin. We thank the Elders, artists, and community members who have been a part of this journey with us to date, especially Sarain Fox, Cris Derksen, and Chickadee Richard.
British Columbia Tour (January 2017)
We conceived of this phase as an incubation period, in which there was time and space to collaborate musically, reflect upon our different histories and perspectives, and learn. Dialogue and relationship-building were at the root of this important stage. Sarain Carson-Fox, Anishinaabe dancer, joined us for several days facilitating cultural education opportunities, and dancing in our performances. We explored the findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was, at times, a very difficult and emotional process. We also explored the right of access to water for all peoples, the sacred nature of water, water as part of a diverse and fragile ecosystem, and water as part of the Canadian experience from Indigenous, northern Canadian, and non-Indigenous southern Canadian perspectives. Cris Derksen, Cree/Mennonite cellist, joined us on the Wednesday of the tour, and Carmen Braden, northern Canadian composer, Skyped in for education, collaborative music-making, and relationship-building sessions.
Chicago Tour (October 2017)
During this tour, the CCC took up residency in the American Indian Center in Chicago for several days to work closely with Sarain and Carmen. Sarain again led the CCC through various cultural facilitation activities, both artistic and non-artistic. CCC singers sang through compositional sketches for the commissioned piece created by Carmen, based on previously submitted CCC “water memories.” The CCC also performed for Indigenous People’s Day with Sarain at Northwestern University.
Saskatchewan Tour (February 2018)
In Saskatchewan, we continued our commitment to education and learning by visiting Wanuskewin, a longstanding meeting place of the Northern Plains Indigenous peoples. There, we met with an ethnobotanist who introduced us to regional plants and their traditional cultural uses, explored the museum, and walked through the outdoor trails and Bison jump. The CCC also performed an outreach concert organized by the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra at an elementary school with a nearly 100% Indigenous population.
Manitoba Tour (September 2018)
The Manitoba tour began with an intensive multi-day/night retreat at Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre, where we met with and learned from Chickadee Richard, an Anishinaabe Elder (Bear Clan) and water protector. Composer Carmen Braden joined us for this retreat, and we rehearsed the first draft of the Where Waters Meet composition. We also toured the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg and performed Cree composer Andrew Balfour’s Vision Chant in the Garden of Contemplation.
Yellowknife-Edmonton Tour (October 2019)
Where Waters Meet had its world premiere on Saturday October 12, 2019, at the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre in Yellowknife, NWT. The ensemble was joined by local guest artist Wesley Hardisty (Dene fiddler) and composer Carmen Braden. An encore performance took place October 18 in Edmonton at McDougall United Church.
Media Coverage
October 11, 2019
Canadian Chamber Choir sings Cabin Radio news article
Online Explorations (2020/2021)
During the pandemic, work on Where Waters Meet moved online for Zoom sessions with consultants and collaborators. We were thrilled to have our singers meet poet/playwright/performer Yolanda Bonnell, whose powerful words comprise two of the five movements of Where Waters Meet. Other sessions took place with Theresa Sims, an Indigenous community leader, knowledge keeper and elder, of the upper Mohawk, Turtle Clan of Six Nations of the Grand River; Deanna Gestrin, a vocalist/choral conductor/clinician/ composer/educator and mixed heritage member of the St’atl’imx First Nation; and with and Cree-Dene singer/songwriter/educator Sherryl Sewepagaham. We also held space with Mi’kmaw drummer/singer/health administrator Aaron Prosper, who joined us from his home in Nova Scotia to share culture and songs with our singers, artistic/admin team and board members in preparation for an in-person collaboration in Fall 2022.
Nova Scotia Tour (October/November 2022)
Performances of Where Waters Meet took place on November 2 (Parrsboro), November 3 (Halifax) and November 4 (Truro) with guest collaborator Aaron Prosper. An invitation from Dalhousie University’s College of Sustainability led to WWM being performed at the ESS (Environment, Sustainability and Society) Lecture Series.
Attendees gained insight into the role of the arts as activism and a vehicle for positive social change, using Where Waters Meet as a springboard for discussion. Joining Aaron Prosper, the CCC Artistic Team and singers in this important conversation were Sherryl Sewepagaham and Dr. Danielle Sirek (Assistant Professor of Arts Education – Faculty of Education, Western University). Watch it here.
Ontario Tours (January/July 2023)
In workshop sessions throughout 2023, CCC and Sherryl Sewepagaham explored Indigenization of music education, decolonization of vocal/choral practice, and activities and repertoire for music teachers that can be used to actively engage with the TRC Calls to Action in the music classroom. Topics included vocal inflection/technique that honours diverse musical traditions, singing in Cree, creative collaborations with Indigenous artists, land-based composition, and how teachings from the land can inform creative practice.
Recording Sessions (July 2023)
Sherryl Sewepagaham, CCC artistic director Julia Davids and the CCC singers shared a deep desire to commemorate their time together. By mid-2023, the idea for an album had begun to take shape and the perfect opportunity came during a day off in Kingston, Ontario during their July 2023 tour.
Album Release (September 6, 2024)
Where Waters Meet: Sherryl Sewepagaham + Canadian Chamber Choir was released worldwide on September 6, 2024. Solo pieces written and performed by Sewepagaham are nestled around each movement of Where Waters Meet, mirroring the way in which Braden’s contemporary choral suite has been performed live during the CCC’s past tours.
“We really endeavoured to capture the magic of live performance with Sherryl, and I think the recording has a luminous, present, and immediate feel,” says Davids. “The beauty of our shared experiences and combined voices is amplified by the brilliant acoustics of the Jennifer Velva Bernstein Performance Hall at the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.”
“Sacred Water” – Original Artwork by John Rombough
To coincide with the October 2019 premiere and promotional campaign for Where Waters Meet, the Canadian Chamber Choir commissioned an original painting from Dene artist John Rombough. The painting was later licensed for use in the album packaging as well. Working in his unique contemporary woodlands style, John created “Sacred Water” – depicting a raven overlooking the union of two streams. “As the evening comes to an end, the raven sites, while enjoying the beautiful land. Listening to the river is like medicine to his ears. Surrounded by all the grandfather rocks, everything has a spirit. The land, the rocks, the trees are alive. A sacred place where two rivers meet as one. It’s music to the raven’s ears; the river happy to move forward. – John Rombough, 10/10/2019
For more information about John and his work, visit denecreations.ca.
Collaborators
Carmen Braden – Composer
Carmen Braden is a versatile, genre-jumping musician from the Canadian sub-Arctic. She is a WCMA-nominated composer / performer based in her hometown of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Wesley Hardisty – Fiddle
Wesley Hardisty is a fiddler and composer whose music blends rock, country, folk, Celtic and Métis sounds. He joined the CCC for two premiere performances of Where Waters Meet in October 2019.
Aaron Prosper – Singer/Drummer
Aaron Prosper is a member of Eskasoni First Nation and is a member of the Eastern Eagle Singers. Eastern Eagle is an internationally renowned contemporary Mi’kmaw drum group based out of the Mi’kmaw community of Sipe’kne’katik. Aaron is a strong advocate for Mi’kmaq culture, language, and education. His performances and artistic work is highly influence by his Mi’kmaw upbringing in Eskasoni, and Aaron continually strive to incorporate his Mi’kmaw culture, language, and traditions, in his work and collaborations.
Sherryl Sewepagaham – Singer/Composer
Sherryl Sewepagaham is of Woodland Cree and Dene ancestry from the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta and lives in Edmonton. She is an experienced children’s choir director, a K-6 elementary music specialist, and Orff-Schulwerk specialist focusing on Indigenous music, pedagogies, and worldview through music and song. With Land as her teacher, Sherryl is furthering her knowledge of Indigenous Ways of Knowing and Being while learning traditional practices on the land and waters in her territory.